Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Tourism Upbeat About the Future of the Sector

During the recently concluded Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) Caribbean Week in New York, Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez, Minister of Tourism of Antigua and Barbuda, shared an optimistic outlook on the future of Caribbean tourism.

Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez, Minister of Tourism, Antigua and BarbudaThe experienced cabinet minister highlighted the region’s strong recovery and emphasized the renewed interest in the Caribbean as a popular travel destination, noting that the Caribbean has been one of the fastest in the world to recover from the pandemic. He expressed confidence in the promising prospects for the remainder of the year and beyond. Despite the trend of shorter booking windows, the winter season of 2023-2024 is already looking bright.

Minister Fernandez exuded confidence in Antigua and Barbuda’s growth and development, highlighting the top-class facilities at its airport and improvements being made to the cruise port. He also highlighted the completion of the fifth pier and ongoing dredging efforts, which will enable the twin-island destination to accommodate larger cruise ships.

The tourism minister unveiled the destination’s strategic thrust toward the yachting sector, emphasizing the niche’s higher average per-person spend and expressed a strong commitment to promoting and benefiting from the yachting industry, recognizing the significant economic advantages it can bring to the nation.

Minister Fernandez emphasized the vital importance of tourism to the people of the Caribbean, stating: “Tourism is the one thing that ... they can’t take from us ... our beautiful sandy beaches, our pink sand in Barbuda, the friendliness of our people, and the beautiful sea, the coral … that’s something they can’t take.

“So tourism is naturally what we can really excel at, and that is something that will be with us for as long as we can keep it going. And a lot of our people depend on it!” he concluded.